It seems that every technological leap and bound our species makes is geared towards rendering the blue collar workforce obsolete. Sure, Tesla employs plenty of workers, but if EVs really do take the world by storm their lessened complexity and Autopilot technology risks the jobs of thousands of mechanics and taxi drivers around the world. But it's not like sticking with the internal combustion engine will be as profitable for mechanics as it once was thanks to synthetic oil blends.

To investigate the world of creating long-lasting engine oil, Engineering Explained takes a deep dive into Mobil 1's Annual Protection oil, which claims to allow a car to be driven for up to 20,000 miles or one year without an oil change, whichever comes first.

Even for synthetic oil, that's a pretty bold claim. If the company is right, then the pain of frequent oil changes can become a thing of the past. If it's wrong, then there goes your engine. Yeah, pretty high stakes. That's why it pays to independently verify if Mobil 1 is telling the truth. Not like there's much incentive to lie. If engines start going kaput, then the company's law offices can expect an inundation of lawsuits, so there's a good chance the claim is not false advertising. But juuuust in case you want to verify for yourself, Engineering Explained gets behind the scenes by going to Mobil 1's own research facility to check out how it tests its oil to ensure your engine stays healthy well past the usual oil change interval.